Extra cost-effective housing in towns and villages,

Extra cost-effective housing in towns and villages.

Update 16th Oct 2010. What space have we got in the centre of our towns and villages? For me the answer is the carparks whether as part of a shopping complex or the civic ones or corporate or office car parks, even better over pub and railway station car parks.. We could offer existing owners the planning opportunity for residential or small office or retail. In the event that they do not go ahead then the opportunity could be open to anyone to …. (see below.) And then again we could build over the traffic islands and the adjacent roads.

Original entry, 7th September 2010:

I was travelling through Steyning this morning and saw the large car park at the medical centre and also the fairly substantial village car park. Then in Shoreham By Sea I passed the staff car park for the Adur Centre and there are various shoppers car parks. Then there are the hospital car parks in Worthing and Southwick, plus the shoppers car parks at Holmbush. All full of cars.

I have been aware for many years that we are in desperate need of houses which can be reasonably afforded by our young people.

So I wondered if there might be a way to bring these two thoughts together.

I wonder whether we could offer a two hundred and ninety nine year leases (ninety nine years is too short) for the air above the car parks. The idea being to build structures where the ground floor is car parking, as at present, though with the upper floors available for housing. Let’s say three floors of housing. There should be no so-called “affordable housing” as these are effectively only available to ‘key workers’ (civil servants) which therefore makes it even more difficult for everyone else.

Whatever sites are chosen they must be served by public transport.

The result will be to bring people to live in the shopping areas, bring life into villages and enable our young people to buy their own homes locally.

Who, What, Why, When, Where and How. Options need to be created without preconceptions, indeed challenging existing habits.